Is It Time To Re-Plant Your Quality Documents Into An Automated System?
Companies can be severely restricted if their quality documents are out dated or out of control. Audit failures and production setbacks will drive up costs and most likely hurt sales - limiting the ability for a company to grow.


    /Connecticut News Articles/ - NORWICH, CT, May 21, 2008 - Plants need space to grow into. Companies need markets to grow into. The size of the pot can inhibit the growth of the plant if it is not large enough. The plant unable to grow anymore will become dormant and probably die due to lack of room. A company, whose documents are out of order and date, too will quickly realize that it cannot grow because it is restricted by audit failures, production setbacks, fines, and poor quality. Just like a plant stuck in a small pot.

Quality is the size of the pot a company has been planted in. When the quality is strong, the pot is large enough for the company to grow and reach into new markets. The company's brand, reputation, and perceived value are easily recognizable as being worthy by customers. Just like the explosive growth and flowering a plant does as it expands. When the quality is poor, the pot gets smaller, and the company eventually has to be cut back. Its value, brand, and reputation are easily identified, but for all the wrong reasons.

Gardeners know the signs of plant's growth being restricted by the size of its pot; a company can do the same. Manual processes for controlling and using quality documents are fine when a company is small. It is easy to look across the desk at colleague or walk to product floor that is just out back to talk face to face. So like a gardener knowing when to re-plant into a proper pot, the company must ask itself," is it time to automate the approach to quality? Do we know the signs?"

A company's first sign: does anyone use the system now? Simple yet powerful question asked first. If employees are going outside the current system to "get things done" then it is time for a change. Just like when customers tell companies they do not like Brand X by not purchasing it, the employees are saying the same about the current system, they are finding the current method ineffective to conduct business. A quick follow-up question should be what are they doing instead? The second sign: How long does it take anything to get routed? If the answer comes back unknown or longer than warranted, those are huge red flags. It could be a breakdown in a number of things, but accountability is most likely the culprit. A third sign: what is the defect breaking point? How do we know? In other words, how many products have to get returned before it becomes a real problem for the company? If the answer is not easy to find or identified then it can be too late before any real action is taken to remedy problems.

The answers to the signs above will point the company in the right direction when searching for the next steps. Automation of quality documents into systems like document management software, document control systems, or web-based quality solutions can seem daunting. There are many providers out there to choose from. At a minimum any that you look at should help you meet the regulations and standards you operate under, like FDA 21 CFR Part 11, ISO 9001, or SQF to name a few. Beyond that the providers of the solutions you seek should be able to directly point out how they will solve the signs you identified. A solution provider should be able to quantify in dollars not only the amount you will save using their software, but also the amount you will earn in the future. In essence: your growth.

Automation of your quality documents will help keep the pot expanding as your company grows. No longer will you have to worry about actively look for signs; you will be able to monitor the needs and adjust policies and procedures at the right time. Automation allows you to quickly identify problems before they become larger than life. Switching to the automation of your quality documents is like planting a tree. It just needs a little watering from time to time and it grows deep strong roots that is the foundation of success for generations.

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Press Release Contact Information:

Erroin Martin
Mystic Management Systems, Inc.
VP, Sales
190 West Town Street
Norwich, CT
USA 06360
Voice: 8608872900
Website: Visit Our Website